There is a great deal of debate on when the game of baseball started in the United States of America. However, the game most generally recognized as the first game played on American soil was in 1846. Thereafter, the game went through a number of rule revisions up until 1893. Since then, the rules of baseball have remained relatively unchanged. While the rules have remained the same, the approach to playing the game has seen a number of strategical advancements.
One such advancement is in the way batters swing their bat. For the longest time, batters have been taught to swing on an “A to C” plane. During this “A to C” swing, the player's hands move directly to the ball, and the barrel of the bat stays above the hands through the point of contact. This means that the players are taking the bat from behind their shoulder on a downward line and making contact with the lower portion of the ball and continuing their swing through the ball. Often times, especially in young ball players, this results in the batter's weight shifting forward in their stance and greatly reducing their power and momentum. The premise behind this swing style is that by hitting the lower portion of the ball and creating backspin, the ball will travel further off the bat. However, recent studies of the swings of some of the top baseball players in the world show a markedly different story.
Empirical evidence and an examination by the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) demonstrate that the bat should ideally follow a looping motion and be swung with a slight upswing through the ball in order to help maximize the flight path of the ball. In order to complete this swing, the rear shoulder must drop and the weight must be kept primarily over the back foot of the batter's stance. This means that the hands start out on a more curved path before making a hard turn to the right or left (depending on the handedness of the batter). This hard turn of the hands whips the head of the barrel out into the path of the ball with a slight upswing, propelling the ball substantially further than when one swings down the ball as described above. The inherent problem with the former swing style is not the ability to make contact with the ball, but rather the path of the ball. The “A to C” swing style creates a large number of groundballs. As players age, groundballs result in outs with an increased frequency. There is data to suggest that as many as 75% of groundballs result in outs in Major League Baseball (MLB). The looping swing style helps to propel the ball further and limit the amount of groundballs resulting in outs.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus that assists to either teach or correct a batter's swing to enable them to maximize the flight path of the ball off the bat. This is done by providing a restricted swing area that mimics the preferred upswing motion. Additionally, there is a need for an apparatus that can be used and enjoyed by players that bat both left and right handed. There is another need for an apparatus that can progressively restrict a batter's swing to a predetermined swing path. There is also a need for an apparatus that can measure other factors related to the ball flight, such as bat speed, to help players achieve the maximum flight path. The current apparatus also requires the batter to prevent their weight from shifting forward during the swing in order to correctly and efficiently swing their bat through the apparatus. The current invention meets and exceeds all these limitations.
Review of Related Technology:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,039 pertains to a baseball bat swing training apparatus that includes a base which sits on the ground with a vertically extending post extending from the base. A baseball bat swing guide is attached to the post which has a pair of parallel swing guides connected at one end and open at the other end. The swing guide arms are positioned at a predetermined slope to the post of between 50 and 80 degrees. Each arm has an approximately 90 degree bend therein to form a bent U-shape. A ball holding cup can be attached to the lower arm while the ball holder can be attached to the upper arm and the vertically extending post is a telescoping post for adjusting the height thereof and may be a dual post. A second embodiment has a pair of posts and a pair of base members for supporting a pair of swing guide arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,863 pertains to a device that measures the height and inclination of a batter's swing plane by a batting practice device shaped like a home plate and including a laser source and photosensors for detecting laser light reflected by the bat when swung over the plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,199 pertains to a sports stroke training device having a post for mounting vertically on a vertical surface. The post is provided with a longitudinal groove for adjustably retaining a pivot shaft. An elongated bar is mounted intermediate its ends on the pivot shaft for pivotal movement thereon. The bar is provided at each of its ends with a flexible guide member which extends perpendicular from the bar in a direction from the post. A correct racket stroke is made when both guide members are hit during the stroke along the longitudinal centerline of the bar.
Various devices are known in the art. However, their structure and means of operation are substantially different from the present disclosure. In contrast to these devices, the current invention allows for an upward swinging/hitting angle, can be oriented for left or right handed batters, measures bat speed, and has an adjustable swing zone. Thus, the other inventions fail to solve all the problems taught by the present disclosure. At least one embodiment of this invention is presented in the drawings below and will be described in more detail herein.